Timothy DeWayne Thomas Jr., a 19-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot by Cincinnati Police Officer Stephen Roach on April 7, 2001, in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Officers had spotted Thomas, who fled; Officer Roach shot him in the chest, later saying he believed Thomas was reaching for a gun. The investigation found Thomas was unarmed and that he was pulling up his sagging pants when he was shot.

Thomas’s death touched off major unrest in Cincinnati. Protests in the Black community escalated into the Cincinnati Riots from April 9 to April 13, 2001, resulting in nearly 1,000 arrests and over $3.6 million in property damage. Officer Roach was tried for negligent homicide in September 2001 and was acquitted; he later resigned from the Cincinnati Police Department. Thomas was one of fifteen African-American men killed by Cincinnati police officers between 1995 and 2001, a pattern cited by critics as contributing to community frustration.